Rate my Build, RTX 3060 Ti, 12700F, will be mostly used for RPG gaming and Media consumption, as well as scientific computing.

[rainforest_runner]

Budget (including currency): €2000

Country: Germany

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Team Viewer, General Youtube/Movies/Media consumption, RPG Gaming (I like The Witcher and Final Fantasy and Sekiro, but not of competitive gaming), BOINC

Other details

 

 

As long as nobody's gonna be nuking anybody, I'm pretty sure in the next few months we will get a lower price on GPUs, and I can finally build my PC after like 8 years since my last one. So far, I've been living with an HP Omen desktop replacement (2017) 17 inch that serves as everything that I'm writing below. 

 

I'll be Hybrid working at the office and from home, so here's the projected PC usage (with 112 hours in a week since I'll be using the rest to sleep):

1.) Virtual gateway for working on a VM, (I'm a software-dev, python to be exact) (say, 17% of the time in a week)

2.) Media consumption (Movies, youtube, music) (say, 15% of the time)

3.) Gaming, like The Witcher, Final Fantasy, Sekiro, Far Cry, but no competitive gaming (like LoL or Overwatch) nor streaming (say 23% of the time)

4.) Self-Development with trying out Blender, trying development with Linux Environment, Unity game development, ML/DL stuff (\~15% of the time....okay, it hasn't started yet, so it's shared between point 2 and 3 above, but I'd like to)

5.) The rest of the time, I'll be at work or commuting or just having a life outside of the house, so I'll put it to run science projects using BOINC (so 30% + The time that I'm sleeping that I'm not counting in the percentages.)

 

I already have a mice, keyboard, webcam, speaker and an 34' UW Monitor as well as a 55' 4k TV.

 

I don't care about RGB, and I'd like my PC Tower to be quite silent. Based on my pc history, I'd probably would not upgrade this (if ever) and just go for the next big thing after 5 years or so. And my budget is €2000. I chose 3060 Ti, since it's the best bang for buck, and 12700f because of significantly lower power consumption, with just slight performance decrease than 12700k (AFAIK). Let me know what I can improve here!

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/XndYH2

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700F 2.1 GHz 12-Core Processor  (€336.71 @ Caseking) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler  (€71.89 @ Alternate) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 UD DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (€189.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (€67.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (€67.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital WD_BLACK SN750 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€219.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue 6 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€110.16 @ Computeruniverse) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 3060 Ti LHR 8 GB DUAL MINI OC V2 Video Card  (€625.34 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 Compact ATX Mid Tower Case  (€122.33 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€129.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM 64-bit  (€136.89 @ Alternate) 
Total: €2078.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-26 12:31 CET+0100

Edited March 26, 2022 by rainforest_runner
corrected BOINC link

[Jeppes]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700F 2.1 GHz 12-Core Processor  (€336.71 @ Caseking)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler  (€70.95 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660M-A DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (€149.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (€133.94 @ Computeruniverse)
Storage: Western Digital WD_BLACK SN750 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€219.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 6 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€110.16 @ Computeruniverse)
Video Card: Palit GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB GamingPro Video Card  (€799.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Silverstone FARA H1M MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (€56.98 @ Alternate)
Power Supply: BitFenix Formula Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  (€80.47 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM 64-bit  (€136.89 @ Alternate)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€5.56 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€5.56 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €2106.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-26 13:52 CET+0100

20€ more and with a 3070ti.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/xvYzNc

Cut costs and upgraded hdd to 7200rpm 8tb

 

Board has 2 usbc (one on rear i/o and one internal i/o) to make up for the garbage rear i/o but case doesnt seem to have a usbc front i/o so you can prob buy one of those usbc header to expansion slot adapters if they even exist but if they dont then you can use a usbc header cable and shove it onto an expansion slot

 

Case has better airflow than the joke that is the fractal define 7 so itll run quieter cause no airflow = rip quietness

 

Get windows off cheapkey sites like scdkeys, for that particular site theres a 30-40% disc code in the intro of tech yes city vids

 

Theres extra budget left so you may be interested in upgrading the gpu

[rainforest_runner]

3 hours ago, Jeppes said:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700F 2.1 GHz 12-Core Processor  (€336.71 @ Caseking)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler  (€70.95 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660M-A DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (€149.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (€133.94 @ Computeruniverse)
Storage: Western Digital WD_BLACK SN750 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€219.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 6 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€110.16 @ Computeruniverse)
Video Card: Palit GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB GamingPro Video Card  (€799.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Silverstone FARA H1M MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (€56.98 @ Alternate)
Power Supply: BitFenix Formula Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  (€80.47 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM 64-bit  (€136.89 @ Alternate)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€5.56 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€5.56 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €2106.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-26 13:52 CET+0100

20€ more and with a 3070ti.

Okay, I see your point. I also haven't thought about choosing a case fan. Looks good to me! And yeah, a B660 makes more sense since I'm not OCing the CPU anyway.

Can I ask two things?

1.) why is the reduction of PSU to 750 W still worth it? I had thought that it'd be safer if I chose the 850 W, and usually "the more the better/safer" Is there any assurance that it's still okay afterwards? (original wattage estimation was ~510W, and with the above parts, now it's ~600W)

2.) and is there a reason why I would get a 2x16GB instead of just 4x8GB if I am planning NOT to upgrade this PC at all until it dies? I read that there's not that much of a significant difference if I were to use 4 channels instead of just 2, but with a higher RAM Size for the channel. (https://cybersided.com/4x8-ram-vs-2x16-ram/#The_Pros_Cons_of_48_RAM)

[rainforest_runner]

2 hours ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/xvYzNc

Cut costs and upgraded hdd to 7200rpm 8tb

 

Board has 2 usbc (one on rear i/o and one internal i/o) to make up for the garbage rear i/o but case doesnt seem to have a usbc front i/o so you can prob buy one of those usbc header to expansion slot adapters if they even exist but if they dont then you can use a usbc header cable and shove it onto an expansion slot

 

Case has better airflow than the joke that is the fractal define 7 so itll run quieter cause no airflow = rip quietness

 

Get windows off cheapkey sites like scdkeys, for that particular site theres a 30-40% disc code in the intro of tech yes city vids

 

Theres extra budget left so you may be interested in upgrading the gpu

Hmm okay, thanks for the tip. I'm rather dumb on casing, and unless I actually see it, I probably can't tell the difference in airflows if I only look at a picture from the site.

Sure, I'll look into the cheaper Windows. Maybe I could get that.

As what Jeepes suggested, I think it does actually make sense to go for 3070 Ti if it's not that expensive, especially if I am going from a 1050 Ti from my laptop :D. And you also suggested the 2x16 GB...any thoughts on why? (I also asked it to Jeepes in an earlier reply.)

[KaitouX]

4 hours ago, rainforest_runner said:

12700f because of significantly lower power consumption, with just slight performance decrease than 12700k (AFAIK).

While I consider the 12700F the best option due to the performance difference and price, if you want the performance to be similar to the 12700K its power limit is only 10W lower(180W vs 190W), when power limited to 65W it's ~25%+ slower.

[Jonathan Lee]

51 minutes ago, rainforest_runner said:

2.) and is there a reason why I would get a 2x16GB instead of just 4x8GB if I am planning NOT to upgrade this PC at all until it dies? I read that there's not that much of a significant difference if I were to use 4 channels instead of just 2, but with a higher RAM Size for the channel. (https://cybersided.com/4x8-ram-vs-2x16-ram/#The_Pros_Cons_of_48_RAM)

Typically, it's easier to get a 2x16 GB kit to run at rated speeds than 4x8 GB kit. Most people also suggest 2x16 kit so you have expandability room. Very easy to add another 2x16 GB kit later down the line. For 12th gen intel though, you can go for either and you'll probably be fine.

[brob]

50 minutes ago, rainforest_runner said:

and is there a reason why I would get a 2x16GB instead of just 4x8GB if I am planning NOT to upgrade this PC at all until it dies? I read that there's not that much of a significant difference if I were to use 4 channels instead of just 2, but with a higher RAM Size for the channel. (https://cybersided.com/4x8-ram-vs-2x16-ram/#The_Pros_Cons_of_48_RAM)

 

Four sticks of memory is not Quad channel. The i7-12700(KF) has a dual channel memory controller that can support two banks per channel. A four matched stick kit may be marketed as quad channel, but it will only operate in dual channel when used with an i7-12700(KF).

 

There are small performance issues that revolve around module count, memory chips, speed, and timings. Generally the interplay of relevant factors are complex enough to only be worth pursuing by those interested in extreme performance.

 

I prefer a two stick, higher capacity kit as it usually leaves open slots for a no replacement upgrade.

[rainforest_runner]

15 hours ago, Jonathan Lee said:

Typically, it's easier to get a 2x16 GB kit to run at rated speeds than 4x8 GB kit. Most people also suggest 2x16 kit so you have expandability room. Very easy to add another 2x16 GB kit later down the line. For 12th gen intel though, you can go for either and you'll probably be fine.

 

14 hours ago, brob said:

 

Four sticks of memory is not Quad channel. The i7-12700(KF) has a dual channel memory controller that can support two banks per channel. A four matched stick kit may be marketed as quad channel, but it will only operate in dual channel when used with an i7-12700(KF).

 

There are small performance issues that revolve around module count, memory chips, speed, and timings. Generally the interplay of relevant factors are complex enough to only be worth pursuing by those interested in extreme performance.

 

I prefer a two stick, higher capacity kit as it usually leaves open slots for a no replacement upgrade.

Alright, you guys convinced me. I'll do that instead

 

15 hours ago, KaitouX said:

While I consider the 12700F the best option due to the performance difference and price, if you want the performance to be similar to the 12700K its power limit is only 10W lower(180W vs 190W), when power limited to 65W it's ~25%+ slower.

I was looking at this benchmark https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-12700K-vs-Intel-Core-i7-12700F/4119vs4124 and it looks like the base clock is where it is significantly better (2.1 vs 3.6) what do you mean by power limit is only 10W lower?

[Jeppes]

16 hours ago, rainforest_runner said:

1.) why is the reduction of PSU to 750 W still worth it? I had thought that it'd be safer if I chose the 850 W, and usually "the more the better/safer" Is there any assurance that it's still okay afterwards? (original wattage estimation was ~510W, and with the above parts, now it's ~600W)

Estimations look close enough as you would indeed most likely be fine with a 650W quality unit too.

 

[KaitouX]

1 hour ago, rainforest_runner said:

 

Alright, you guys convinced me. I'll do that instead

 

I was looking at this benchmark https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-12700K-vs-Intel-Core-i7-12700F/4119vs4124 and it looks like the base clock is where it is significantly better (2.1 vs 3.6) what do you mean by power limit is only 10W lower?

You shouldn't use userbenchmark, even though the specs aren't wrong, it's often misleading due to lack of context or missing information + the performance numbers are usually pretty off.

 

i7 12700F

i7 12700K

Check the "Maximum Turbo Power" in the specs in the links, that is how much power the CPU can use while in turbo, which the default for the 12700K(F) have no time limits, and for the 12700(F) may or may not have time limits by default depending on the motherboard. You can manually change it in the BIOS.

 

TechSpot (HardwareUnboxed) 12700 Review

[65W]=Limited to 65W [RM1]=Stock cooler [H170i]=Good cooler

You can see in the graphs here that the 12700 uses close to the same power as the 12700KF to achieve similar performance, and that when limited to 65W it falls a lot behind. In this case, the 12700 system uses 33W less, my guess is that this difference is due to the CPU being able to achieve the target boost clocks, without having to reach the maximum turbo power. In other words, it's probably unit variation, the reviewer got a good sample that doesn't need as much power to reach 4.9GHz.

20 hours ago, Jeppes said:

CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler  (€70.95 @ Amazon Deutschland)

I would get the Fuma 2 over this, it's a few euros cheaper, and it's quieter in idle and lower loads, but it's not like it's bad, so either one is ok. Everything else in the list is also nice.

[Jeppes]

3 hours ago, KaitouX said:

I would get the Fuma 2 over this, it's a few euros cheaper, and it's quieter in idle and lower loads, but it's not like it's bad, so either one is ok. Everything else in the list is also nice.

You can adjust fan speeds. I would steer away from reviews where the reviewer cant adjust all decent +25€ towers close to inaudible in idle or lower loads.

[KaitouX]

26 minutes ago, Jeppes said:

You can adjust fan speeds. I would steer away from reviews where the reviewer cant adjust all decent +25€ towers close to inaudible in idle or lower loads.

The noise floor in the Fuma is lower, in my experience there is no inaudible fan even when set to the lowest speed. How noticeable/loud it is depends on the distance, case and ambient noise, but OP asked for a quiet PC, so the Fuma is the better option when looking from the noise perspective.

The AK620 can cool slightly better, but the difference is small enough that if they prefer a slightly quieter cooler the Fuma will work just fine.

[Hybris5112]

Here is my stab though I did it before reading the rest of the thread: 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/BtZ3tn

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700F 2.1 GHz 12-Core Processor  (€348.11 @ Computeruniverse) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler  (€71.89 @ Alternate) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 UD DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (€185.89 @ Caseking) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (€124.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN570 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€89.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Seagate EXOS Enterprise 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€187.89 @ Alternate) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 3060 Ti LHR 8 GB DUAL MINI OC V2 Video Card  (€625.35 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case  (€52.82 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€129.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM 64-bit  (€136.89 @ Alternate) 
Total: €1953.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-27 16:31 CEST+0200

 

Went to a 2 x 16GB stick memory config to save money and leave space for upgrades should you decide it down the road.

I was unsure about the massive SSD so I cut that in half to bring things back in budget after replacing the junk HDD with one that is actually worth buying. HDD prices are such that anything less than 7200 RPM isn't really worth getting in my experience.

The case I replaced because frankly any modern case that has a solid front is all but useless unless at lot more care was placed into its design. This also allowed me to save more money which if needed could be put back into the SSD if your use case requires a lot of high speed storage.

 

In any case you should be able to at least use the freed up budget to tweak other things as needed. 

[Jonathan Lee]

8 hours ago, rainforest_runner said:

and it looks like the base clock is where it is significantly better (2.1 vs 3.6) what do you mean by power limit is only 10W lower?

Power and base clock doesn't really matter that much. If you have a good motherboard and sufficient cooling, the 12700 will boost to similar speeds as the 12700K and consume about the same power

[Jeppes]

2 hours ago, KaitouX said:

The noise floor in the Fuma is lower, in my experience there is no inaudible fan even when set to the lowest speed. How noticeable/loud it is depends on the distance, case and ambient noise, but OP asked for a quiet PC, so the Fuma is the better option when looking from the noise perspective.

The AK620 can cool slightly better, but the difference is small enough that if they prefer a slightly quieter cooler the Fuma will work just fine.

I would like some data on that. A better cooler in noise-normalized testing can always run fans slower aka make less noise to match the worse cooler in temperatures.